


The Next Step

by aexis1465



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Adoption, Established Relationship, M/M, brief mentions of past abuse, it's more of just a small freak-out than an actual panic attack though, like one sentence, small panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 00:06:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11497629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aexis1465/pseuds/aexis1465
Summary: Having a baby is a huge responsibility for anyone, especially for two soldiers when a war just ended and the entire planet it rebuilding itself. Regardless, Grif and Simmons find their lunch hour being interrupted with the proposition of a baby.“Dude, she looks like a perfect mix between us,” Grif said softly.“It’s kinda weird.”“Don’t call her weird! She’s beautiful!”“I wasn’t calling her weird, I meant the fact that she looked so much like us was weird.” Simmons said while rolling his eyes.





	The Next Step

“Simmons? Grif? Could I talk to you in my office?” Kimball interrupted their lunch. 

The pair looked at each other trying to think of any reason Kimball would want to speak with them privately. It couldn’t be the last time they were caught stealing food in the middle of the night, they had already run laps around the entire base for that. And it also couldn’t be the time they stole books from Doyle’s personal library because those were returned before anyone noticed they were missing. Unless Kimball was holding a grudge from when they were still fighting the war, there was nothing that could be held against them. 

“Can I bring my food?” Grif asked before taking another bite of the sandwich Simmons had made him. 

“No, fatass,” Simmons said. “Come on, it’ll still be here when we get back.” 

Grif groaned but stood up to follow Simmons and Kimball to her office. He turned around to see Tucker already handing his half eaten sandwich to Caboose who had already eaten his. 

“I just lost my sandwich to Caboose, I hope your happy,” He mumbled to Simmons. 

“Absolutely delighted.” 

The walk to Kimball’s office was short. Anything important in the New Republic was close together minus the armory and training grounds. Since the war ended, neither the armory or training grounds have been in use. Soldiers that signed up to be soldiers were still staying in the living quarters, but the people forced to act like soldiers were returned to their home from before the war or were given an equivalent if their homes were destroyed. 

“What was it you wanted to talk about?” 

“Dr. Grey informed me earlier today of a certain _situation,_ ” She said. “Last night, a baby was found alone in a hospital room with no sign of either parent. We looked into who was in the room and if there were any documents regarding the baby. It was soon discovered there was no documents and that nobody checked in or out of that room had any connection to a baby.” 

“I hate to interrupt, but what does this have to do with Simmons and I?” 

“Out of everyone on the army base, you two are the only ones who seem to be in a position to raise a baby. You’ve been dating for so long, you work well together, and you have a team of people that support you.” 

“You want us to adopt a random baby?” Simmons deadpanned.

“If a permanent arrangement isn’t something you’re interested in, it would be greatly appreciated if you would at least take care of the baby while we find a suitable set of parents.” 

“We can’t-” 

“Yeah, we’ll do it,” Grif cuts Simmon’s statement off. 

“What?” He exclaims. “We are not prepared for a baby! We aren’t even good with kids!” 

“Wrong. You aren’t good with kids, I am.” 

Once Grif turned 16, his mother left him and Kai on their own. She was only seven at the time and Grif was left to assume the parent role in her life. Two years of avoiding social workers and using every excuse he could think of as to why their mother wasn’t the one attending parent-teacher conferences. By the time he turned 18, he was working two jobs and barely coming up with enough money to pay the utility bills. He didn’t dare try to adopt Kai because he knew the state would consider him unfit to care for her. Though it wasn’t the best childhood Kai could have, Grif would say it was okay given the circumstances. 

“Grif, we can’t.” 

“I don’t care if I have to do it myself, I’m not leaving an abandoned baby alone. It isn’t right,” He argued. 

The situation reminded him too much of him and Kai. The parents left their baby to be dealt with by someone else. It didn’t matter what else was going on, Grif was going to help this baby. They could still be in the war and he would drop everything to care for a child he doesn’t even know. 

“If you’d like to see her before you make a decision, that would be perfectly understandable,” Kimball offered, sensing the tension in the room. 

“My answer is still yes, but I would still like to meet her. Does she have a name?” 

“Not yet.” 

Simmons remained silent as he followed Grif and Kimball towards the hospital. It wasn’t a conventional hospital like the ones outside of the base, but it served its purpose. There were two operating rooms, twelve rooms with two beds for patients to recover, and then one large pharmacy in the middle. 

“She has been kept in one of the empty recovery rooms with a nurse since we don’t have an actual nursery to keep her in. Why the parents didn’t choose to bring her to an actual hospital is beyond me, it would make much more sense.” 

“Is she sick or anything?” Grif asks. 

“Last I knew, they were running test. But- oh! Dr. Grey!” She calls to Grey when they enter the hospital. “How are the tests for the baby? Grif and Simmons would like to see her.” 

“Follow me this way, we put her in the room farthest away from other patients as a precaution. Wouldn’t want her getting sick, would we? And as for those tests, everything is perfectly normal- nothing to worry about. I had one of my nurses make a birth certificate to fill out the information we know and what we can estimate. All we need are the full names of her and her parents,” Grey spoke quickly like she always has. Simmons originally thought it was because she was used to giving orders to other doctor in the middle of a battle, but now he’s come to realize it’s just her nature. 

She led them down the hallway towards the baby’s room. Memories of when every room in the hospital had injured soldiers lying anywhere they could flashed through Simmons’ mind. There were significantly less patients, and the injuries were much less severe. Where it used to be bullet wounds, it was now headaches. 

“We’ll wait out here,” Grey said as she opened the door. “Just come get us if you need something.” 

“Take as long as you’d like,” Kimball added. 

The nurse currently in the room walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving Grif and Simmons alone with the baby. She was in the bed- surrounded by blankets so she wouldn’t fall- looking up at the pair. 

“Dude, she looks like a perfect mix between us,” Grif said softly. 

Simmons wished he could disagree, he really did, but Grif was completely right. She had tan skin, a small amount of black hair that was just long enough to have a tiny curl, and a flat nose like Grif. She seemed to be taller than Simmons recalls babies being, so it’s plausible that she’d end up being taller than her peers like Simmons. Also, the freckles covering her face and blue eyes were also traits Simmons and the baby shared. Though her eyes would most likely turn into more of a brown or hazel color when she is older, they currently greatly resembled Simmons’ eyes.

“It’s kinda weird.” 

“Don’t call her weird! She’s beautiful!” 

“I wasn’t calling her weird, I meant the fact that she looked so much like us was weird.” Simmons said while rolling his eyes. 

“I’m gonna pick her up,” Grif said. 

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, she is content right now.” 

Disregarding Simmons’ statement, Grif slowly reached out for the baby to pick her up. He held her against his chest, keeping on arm under her legs and the other against her back so he could use his hand to support her neck. She pushes her face against his shirt and pulls her arms closer to her center. 

“Oh my god,” Grif said, looking down at the baby. “She is amazing, Simmons.”

“Are you crying?” 

“Am I?” He holds on tighter around the baby’s back as he uses his other arm to wipe away the tears from his eyes. 

“No! Hold her with both arms or don’t hold her at all! What if you dropped her?” 

“Awh,” He coos at the baby. “Is Simmons worried about you? I think he is. Do you think he wants to hold you? He might be nervous, though. Between you and I, I don’t think he’s ever held a baby before.” 

“What? Yes, I have! I have a nephew, remember?” 

“Yeah, and the first time you met him he was already walking. Holding a newborn is different.” He looks back down at the baby. “Yes it is. Tell him: you have to be gentle and slow with your movements. He wouldn’t want to scare you would he? No, he wouldn’t because if he does, I’ll kick his ass later.” 

“Don’t swear in front of her,” Simmons mumbled. 

“Sit on the edge of the bed; you’re going to hold her.” 

Reluctantly, Simmons does as he’s told and sits with his legs crossed. Grif takes the few steps it takes to get to the edge of the bed with Simmons. 

“Okay, what arm do you want her head to be on?” 

“Preferably not my robot one.” 

“Okay. Bend your arm like this-” he adjusts the baby so he is holding her head in the crook of his elbow and his other arm is supporting her body. “Make sure you keep her head up and don’t move her around to much. She is fragile.” 

“I know how babies work, Grif.” 

He passes the baby to Simmons and takes a step back to watch how he handles her. She rests comfortably in his arms and opens her mouth in a way that resembles a smile. 

“Aren’t you just the cutest thing ever,” He smiles back at her.

There is a knock on the door before the nurse from before enters the room with a bottle. 

“We’ve had her on a schedule for eating, so here’s the bottle. But I can feed her if you aren’t comfortable with it.” 

“No, it’s fine, we’ll do it,” Grif smiled. He walked over to the nurse and took the bottle from her. 

“Would you be able to get me the birth certificate and a pen so we can finish filling it out?” He whispers. She silently nods back before walking out of the room. 

“Alright, lesson number two in baby care: feeding the baby.” He walks over to where Simmons is still making faces at her. “Just hold the bottle in a fashion where it isn’t blocking her nose and she isn’t eating air. Think you can do it?” 

“Yes, I can do. Give me the damn bottle.” Simmons adjusts his position so she is resting against his arm and lap so he can hold the bottle with his robotic hand. 

Following the instructions given to him by Grif, Simmons held the bottle near her mouth and she started eating. He looked up as the door opened and the nurse walked in with the birth certificate and a pen. She smiled at the three of them before closing the door again. 

Simmons felt his heart start to race. He never imagined himself as a parent- there was no reason for him to. When he was twelve and his father started abusing him, he told himself he’d never have kids in fear of unconsciously treating them in a similar fashion. Now he trusts himself to never hurt a child, but growing up, he never wanted to be around kids. 

Still, even if Simmons did have stellar parents, there is too much that could go wrong. Bad things happen to kids all the time. What if they climb a tree and fall and break their leg? What if someone kidnaps them? What if another war breaks out and they are put into an army at a young age? There were too many “what if” questions for Simmons to handle. 

“Simmons?” Grif said quietly. “Simmons, come on. Calm down.” 

He looked away from the wall he was staring at to see Grif was feeding the baby next to him on the bed. It never registered with Simmons that the baby was taken out of his arms while he started panicking. Yet another good reason he wasn’t ready- or good enough- to be a parent. 

“Simmons, calm down. Everything’s okay. Take a deep breath with me. In and out, just like that." 

“I can’t- I can’t be a father. I can’t, Grif, I can’t.” His voice is unsteady. He holds onto his knees tightly, trying to distract himself from the baby in Grif’s arms. 

“Stop that, you’re going to hurt yourself.” 

“There is no way I’m fit to be a parent. We can’t adopt her.” 

“Until you started panicking, you were amazing with her! She loved you talking to her and making silly faces! Don’t think about yourself, think about her. She has no name and no family and no one that loves her. You and I have the opportunity to give her all of that and then some. I really think we should adopt her. The war’s over and we need to move onto the next part of our lives, and I think adopting her would be a great way to do that.” 

“I don’t know. We don’t have a name.” 

“Okay, now you’re just making excuses.” Grif smiles, knowing they wouldn’t be leaving the hospital without the baby. “We can think of some right now. You go first.” 

“Elana? Miley?” 

“Miley has potential, but I don’t think it’s a good first name. Maybe middle name?” 

“Yeah, that’d be fine. You can pick the first name, then.” 

“Is she taking my last name or yours? Or are we doing that whole hyphenated thing?” 

“Uh- would yours be okay?” 

“Yeah, of course,” He said. “Leah Miley Grif? Samira Miley Grif?” 

“What about Sarah?” 

“Sarah Miley Grif. I like it. I mean, the Miley seems a bit out of place, but I like it. Do you want to write it down while I burp her?” 

“Sure.” 

The pen shook as Simmons put it closer to the paper. All he had to do was write her name and then sign his name. Taking a deep breath, he started to write her name out in the neatest handwriting he could muster. His named was signed just below hers. He was officially Sarah’s father. 

“Why are you looking at the paper like it just declared its undivided love for you?” Grif laughed. 

“I’m officially a parent now.” 

“Congrats, buddy. Would you like to finish feeding her so I can sign it too?” 

Simmons took Sarah and the bottle from Grif and took his seat on the edge of the bed again to feed her. 

“And now I’m officially a parent now too,” Grif said. “Kinda weird to think we technically didn’t adopt her though. We just put our names on the birth certificate without filing any adoption papers. As far as anyone is concerned, we just had a baby.” 

“I can already hear Tucker complaining that he had to give birth and we just had to sign papers.” 

“But our kid is way cuter than Junior was as a baby,” He said. 

“Definitely.”

**Author's Note:**

> For now this is going to stay as is, but if you want to see a continuation of this or see more in this au, you can comment your ideas or message me on [tumblr](http://aexis1465.tumblr.com/)
> 
> If you have any ideas/headcanons/prompts for rvb outside of this au or this ship, feel free to tell me those too! I'm always accepting requests! <33


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